Cleave : Out of Tricks

Trixie spat out the daisy-like flower with a disgusted look on her face. "Trixie has tasted garbage better than this...this...thing! Honestly, what kind of flower is this? For that matter, just what is wrong with all of the plants around here?" She swung her frowning head over to Swan, who fluttered dismally around the nearby field, searching in vain for something edible. "Oh what's the use..." We're lost, the wagon is a mess, and on top of that, we had no food left when this happened!

A deep breath narrowly kept her from losing her cool. Even though Trixie had taken a nap on Swan's hammock—in an attempt to make up for her lack of sleep—she still didn't feel any better. Exhaling, Trixie stood up of the ground and cantered towards the sunken wagon. Well whatever the case, I'm done just sitting here.

Swan looked up from where she flew some distance away in the open field. She had just bitten into a very tasty looking oval shaped, purple flower, only to spit it out with a petrified look a moment later. Guh, just where is this place and why is everything icky...oh pineapple slices, what if it's poisonous!? Her teeth gritted together and she took flight once more, speeding off towards the wagon. "Trixie! What if the flowers aaare...what are you doing?" The pegasus had made it back to their little campsite, to find her friend stretching her legs like a gymnast. "These are strange circumstances to be worrying about your figure Trix..." She grinned down at the unicorn, her wings slowing until she landed on the rock overlooking the camp.

Trixie stood up on her hind hooves and cracked her back, then looked over at her young ward. "Oh haha, funny, Trixie will have you know she takes good care to eat healthy enough that she needs to do no such thing!" She smirked up at the now giggling Swan.

"Come on boss, save the third person for your fans." Swan questioningly eyed their rope, which her friend had slung over her back.

Trixie harrumphed and turned away from the other mare, flicking her tail for good measure. "You say that as if I even have any fans. Well, enough merriment Swan, I need to concentrate." Pride had been her greatest weakness in the past, it still was in some ways. The show-mare had learned to be more of a realist at the very least though. The only ponies that ever believed I truly was great and powerful, were fools, and myself... She grimaced and sped up her canter.

"Why, what're you doing Trix?" Swan tilted her head and glided down from her perch to trot up alongside Trixie, they were heading towards the wagon. The mare wasn't going to ask what had Trixie in a third person mood today, she was getting used to how strange she was by now.

The unicorn put on a smug, confident look and stuck her nose up. "Why, I'm getting our wagon free my young apprentice." As if to answer the already brewing, inevitable question of how, her horn lit up and rapidly pulsed a bright blue before fading again. The two mares stopped walking as they reached their water logged home.

"You're kidding." Swan wore a surprised look and glanced from their home, then back to her friend...several times. "Trix, there's no way you can lift that thing, maybe push it...but it weighs at least a couple tons." Sitting down, she fixed an accusing frown towards the unicorn. "You could hurt yourself you know."

Trixie turned and scowled at Swan, then shrugged off the rope she carried and tossed it on the ground with her teeth. "Hurt myse-!?" She growled and stomped a hoof, glaring at the pegasus. After a deep before, she turned away and merely scowled at her wagon. "Just tie the rope to the top and help keep it from tipping over...if it does then I definitely won't be able to stop its momentum."

While Trixie spoke, Swan obeyed and began lassoing the wagon, looking doubtful all the way through the explanation.

"If you're sure Trix..."

"Tut tut Swan, that's Trixie, 'The Great and Powerful'." Trixie put on a wicked grin and leaned forward, horn lighting up into a blaze of concentrated magical. "And don't you forget it..."

Swan rolled her eyes as she tied the knot and flew upwards. "Sure thing, oh Great and Powerful Trixie!" She giggled as she circled higher, pulling the rope tight.

Trixie didn't hear Swan's quip, her mind was already concentrating its utmost on the wagon, and the insurmountable task that lay before her. Come on Trixie, f-focus, you can do this. Twilight did this ten times over years ago... Her grin melted into a smile, then a frown, and finally a twisted snarl of concentration.

A light blue glow touched the top of the wagon, then snapped around the rest in an instant. Sweat beaded on Trixie's forehead, above her, Swan began pulling with all she had. The unicorn tilted her head back and a loud sucking noise announced the mobile home's freedom from the gulch. It hung there a few hoof lengths from the murky surface.

Swan Dive looked back over her shoulder at Trixie, then the wagon. "Whoohoo! Great job Trixie, I didn't think you had it in you...was that noise gross or-? WHOA!" The pegasus tugged back at the rope the suddenly jerked her downwards.

"Would. You. Help!?" Trixie grunted and pulled on the wagon with all her might, trying to get it to float high enough to clear the lip of the gulch, on top of keeping the wagon straight... It began to do so as her apprentice again paid attention to their task.

"Easy does it, there." The wagon thudded to the ground unceremoniously.

The younger mare flittered down to the ground with a gratifying smile. "That was something else Trixie, you actually did it."

Trixie looked up from where she was currently sprawled out on the ground, and smiled weakly. "Yeah- I...I sure did." She managed a weak laugh too, for good measure. Her horn ached a little bit, but other than that it had been easier than she'd thought. Looks as if I might actually start living up to my title. The smile she had grew bigger, despite all the panting she was doing over the intense magical workout. Now, we just gotta tip it over, and figure out where the buck we are...

"Trixie..." Swan landed gracefully beside her older, frowning around at the unfamiliar looking trees as she did so. "I know you said it was stupid and impossible...but this isn't the Griffin's lands, I'm positive of it!" The light purple mare wore a distressed look as she raised her voice a whole octave to show her worry. "What has happened, you were awake, right? Surely you saw something, anything that could explain this!?"

Trixie threw another rock into the deeper river that flanked their current location. I hate to admit, but she's right. She looked up at the slowing falling sun in the sky. If I'm not mistaken, and I'm not...that isn't our sun, either. I don't feel anything from it at all, this world has no magic. Her face melted into one of horror at the very thought. So what does that mean, where are we!?

A muzzle nudged her side, causing her to look up. "Hey, you okay?" Swan wore a very concerned expression.

Trixie blinked and ran her leg over her eyes, she had started to tear up. "Yes, I am fine..." Ashamedly she straightened her face and looked out across the babbling waters. "I did see something, actually, but I don't see how it explains any of this."

"What was it, a witch or something spooky?" Swan's wings ruffled as she sought a comfortable position on the rocky embankment. "Don't tell me it was actually that monster, Discord?"

Trixie snorted and sneered at the suggestion. "Trixie highly doubts it was, my dear apprentice."

Swan rolled her eyes and laid down fully in order to hide it. It's really jarring when you go from normal to crazy like that in five seconds you know. Wisely, she kept the observation to herself.

"In any case," Trixie continued, "there...was a bolt of lightning, just before I... Uh, was knocked out somehow, anyway, it ran right under my legs and into the wagon. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it did us no harm."

Swan's eyes widened when the blue show-mare got to the part about the lightning. Wow, was that what that loud bucking noise was? She grimaced, how the buck did lightning send us to another... The flying showmare began chewing her lip, unwilling to even think that this could really be a whole other world. I wanna go home... "Was that all? Just lightning...?" Her grim expression turned to look up with puppy dog eyes at Trixie.

"...No... No you're right, there was something else!" Trixie jumped to her hooves and charged back towards the now re-situated wagon.

"Hm? Trixie!?" Swan stood up and stared after her, then took flight after her towards the wagon. The door banged up in a cerulean glow, and she followed the unicorn inside. "Trixie, what are you doing? What else was there?" The faint smell of burning wood filled the small interior and the lone glass window was shattered. If lightning did this, I guess we got lucky it didn't catch fire.

"This makes no sense..." Trixie stared at the trinket that had been glowing just before that lightning had blasted her home.

"What's wrong?" Beside her, Swan approached and stood in the remaining space of the room, looking down at what Trixie was scrutinizing. It was a little, dark purple bauble. The thing looked like a cheap piece of rock, kinda like a marble.

"Well," Trixie turned and dropped the strange lump on the disarrayed desk. "This thing used to be a resplendent jade green, now, it's this ugly shade of purple..."

Swan's ears shot up over her immediately angry face. "Hey!" She aimed a heated looked at Trixie, who looked up and grinned back at her shamelessly. I can't believe she just said that, it's always bad taste to make fun of a mare's coat color...besides, hers is that ugly, ice blue. She has no room to talk!

After a moment, a chuckling Trixie continued her exposition. "I'm not sure what it means though, or if it's even connected...but it might be." Trixie picked the rock up with her magic and began probing it, trying to figure out if it held any special properties. I honestly can't recall this particular trinket, I wonder what was special about it that made me buy it? Or did I find this one? Over the years she had picked up a lot of junk before she had found the alicorn amulet. This doesn't explain anything...

"Well, what now?" Swan shuffled worriedly beside Trixie, eyes flickering between her and the rock.

Trixie looked over at her, still in thought, then drifted back to staring at the supposed catalyst of their misfortune. Quietly, she answered her assistant in a sad voice. "Trixie doesn't know Swan, I mean...I really just don't know."